TUESDAY 05 MAY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard TEHRAN 3 INDIANS INJURED AS IRAN HITS UAE A drone strike caused a fire at an energy installation in the emirate of Fujairah, UAE, on Monday, and left three Indian workers injured. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 11  NEW DELHI  J8.00 PAGES 18  A S S E M B LY E L E C T I O N S 2 0 2 6 HOW THE MAP CHANGED TAMIL NADU 107 DMK+ 74 AIADMK+ 53 Oth 00 KERALA Seats: 140 UDF 102 LDF 35 BJP 03 Oth 00 WEST BENGAL Seats: 294 BJP 2014 Seats: 234 TVK 206 TMC 81 INC 02 CPM 01 Oth 03 ASSAM Seats: 126 BJP+ 102 19 AIUDF 02 Oth 03 PUDUCHERRY 2026 ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS Seats: 30 NDA 17 DMK 05 TVK 02 INC 01 Oth 05 INC BJP BIG-HITTING IN WB, CONG IN KERALA If a Vijay wave led by Gen Z voters blew away the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the BJP crushed the ruling TMC in West Bengal, registering a two-thirds majority. Likewise, the UDF wrested power in Kerala with a two-thirds majority. Assam and Pondy stayed with the NDA In the last 30 years, Vijay has been thinking that he had to do something for the society, for Tamil people. They not only loved him as a leader, but youngsters considered him as a brother VIJAY YATRA S A Chandrasekhar, Vijay’s father by actor-turned-neta’s party in TN, Cong in Kerala, BJP in West Bengal Of the total 28 states and 8 Union terroritories in India, NDA is now in power in 22 states/UTs, one more than last year Jananayagan era begins P R A B H A K A R TA M I L A R A S U @ Chennai I bow to people’s verdict... We will be a good oppn party M K Stalin, DMK TOP WINNERS UDHAYANIDHI STALIN 7, 1 4 0 margin of victory over Selvam D of TVK in Chepauk PIC: PARVEEN NEGI TURNING POINT FOR BJP: MODI HIMANTA BISWA SARMA Won by 8 9 , 4 3 4 beat Bidisha Neog of INC in Jalukbari R AT N A D E B N AT H Won by 2 8 , 8 3 6 Mother of R G Kar victim’s mother, she beat TMC’s Tirthankar Ghosh in Panihati K PA L A N I S W A M I Won by 9 8 , 1 1 0 AIADMK chief beat Premkumar K (Independent) in Edapaddi TOP LOSERS M K S TA L I N Lost by 8,795 to V S Babu of TVK in Kolathur M A M ATA B A N E R J E E Lost by 1 5 , 1 4 0 to Suvendu Adhikari in Bhawanipore GAU RAV G O G O I Lost by 2 3 , 1 8 2 to Hitendra Goswami of BJP in Jorhat P RAJEEVE Lost by 1 6 , 3 1 2 to IUML’s V E Abdul Gafoor In Kalamassery M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared BJP’s West Bengal victory a “historic turning point” for Indian politics, saying the lotus was now blooming “from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar.” Modi arrived dressed in traditional Bengali attire at the party HQ, a cultural gesture that drew immediate attention. The win completes what Modi called the party’s “Rise of the East” vision, with BJP now governing all three eastern states — Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal. “Today’s win is truly historic. When years of silent dedication and relentless hard work finally translate into such monumental success, the joy on BJP karyakartas’ faces is incomparable,” he said. Modi highlighted Bengal’s nearly-93% turnout as “historic”, crediting the Election Commission for free and fair polls. He promised that the new cabinet would green-light the Ayushman Bharat scheme, take strict action against infiltrators, ensure women’s safety and generate jobs. , Didi swept out of power after 15 years INSIDE TVK cadres celebrate near Chennai after the Assembly election results on Monday | ASHWIN PRASATH MUKESH RANJAN AND PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi THE results of the five state Assembly elections have delivered more than just a verdict for parties, especially the BJP which pulled off an emphatic , victory to end the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. For the BJP the victory is more than , electoral arithmetic, as it has conquered the last major eastern bastion that had resisted its expansion for over a decade. Banerjee lost her Bhabanipur seat to Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 15,000 votes in the saffron wave and the BJP made inroads into TMC strongholds, suggesting a deeper realignment rather than a transient swing. The setback for the TMC is expected to blunt its ability to assert primacy within the INDIA bloc, potentially recalibrating internal equations in favour of the Congress. The BJP appears to have rebounded after the setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when its tally dropped from over 300 seats in 2019 to 240. The BJP’s winning streak continued with victories in Assam and Puducherry where it retained power rid, ing on pro-incumbency sentiment, and West Bengal where its campaign centred on nationalism, development, and violence-free society The impres. sive Bengal win will help the BJP enter the next cycle of elections with S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata BJP’S landslide victory in West Bengal marked a dramatic political shift as the Trinamool Congress citadel came crashing down on Monday with , Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee losing her seat to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who has now emerged as the frontrunner for the chief minister’s post. It heralded the exit of the Didi after three consecutive terms in power in the state. With a comfortable lead in 206 of 294 assembly seats during counting, the BJP is set to form a government for the first time in West Bengal. Trinamool Congress, which had won 215 seats in 2021, is leading in 81 seats. In a repeat of the 2021 result, aplomb. In 2027, the key states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will go to polls. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu delivered another surprise with debutant TVK, led by actor-politician Vijay emerging , the single-largest party While TVK’s . victory is seen as a verdict in favour of change, the defeat of incumbent chief minister M K Stalin came as a shocker. The AIADMK was pushed to a distant third spot. While TVK has fallen short of the majority mark of 118 seats, it is learnt the party is in talks with smaller parties as well as the DMK’s long-time ally Congress. , This is the first time since 1967, when the first non-Congress government (DMK) came to power in the state, that a party other than the two Dravidian heavyweights has emerged victorious. TVK has also reversed the long-standing trend of alternating power between DMK and AIADMK. The setbacks for the TMC and DMK, key players in the Opposition and the third- and fourth-largest contributors to its Lok Sabha strength, are expected to dent INDIA bloc’s morales. However, the results came as a breather for the Congress-led UDF in Kerala, which stormed to power after 10 years. The BJP also broke through, ending its long-standing electoral drought by winning three seats. For the grand old party the victory adds a , third southern state to its kitty, after Karnataka and Telangana. P7, 9 & 10 Adhikari defeated Banerjee from her home turf, Bhawanipore constituency . Banerjee lost by 15,114 votes, compared to her narrow defeat by around 2,000 votes in Nandigram in 2021. The BJP’s lotus bloomed across the state as not only Banerjee but more than 15 ministers, including senior cabinet members, suffered defeats. Counting of votes at 77 centres since morning indicated a steady march by the BJP towards a clear majority over the Trinamool Congress. In 2021, the Trinamool Congress had formed the government for a third term with 215 seats, while the BJP had secured 77. Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said people had rejected the Trinamool, while also urging supporters to maintain peace and harmony . Ours is an ideological battle, needs patience and resolve Mallikarjun Kharge, Cong It’s a triumph of patience of families who faced violence but never abandoned the saffron flag Amit Shah, BJP ACTOR-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) pulled off a stunning electoral debut by winning 105 and leading in two (as of going to press on Monday) of 234 Assembly seats, emerging as the single largest party in the results declared on Monday . Vijay secured a double bonanza, winning both the Perambur and Tiruchy (East) seats that he contested by a margin of over 50,000 and 27,000 votes, respectively Results were declared for 212 seats and count. ing was on in 22 seats. The verdict has ended the sevGuv may ask Vijay en decades of Dravidian to prove majority duopoly with the debutant , pushing the ruling DMK As the TVK has to the second place. The emerged as the single DMK won 58 seats on its largest party, Vijay own and is leading in two, is expected to meet and the Secular ProgresGovernor Rajendra sive Alliance (SPA) led by Arlekar and stake it is likely to emerge victoclaim to form the rious in 74 seats. govt. The governor AIADMK, the principal may set a deadline opposition, has been releto prove majority gated to the third spot with 46 seats on its own and the NDA led by it winning 52 seats. By securing 34.91% vote-share in a four-cornered fight, Vijay has surpassed the 30.4% votes secured by MG Ramachandran, founder of AIADMK, in the party’s first assembly poll in TN in 1977. TVK’s performance cut across regions and voter demographics, breaching constituencies that have been DMK and AIADMK bastions for decades. In Chennai, the party won 14 of 16 seats, with DMK president and CM MK Stalin losing to TVK’s VS Babu in Kolathur. The hung Assembly second in TN, , sparked reactions from early suitors – Congress, VCK and Left – which may be willing to support TVK from the outside to keep BJP at bay P5 . PONDY: RANGASAMY RETAINS POWER, NDA WINS 18 OF 30 SEATS BJP’s victory is immoral... the mandate in over 100 seats was looted Mamata Banerjee The NDA led by Chief Minister N Rangasamy has retained power in Puducherry, with the alliance winning 18 out of 30 seats. AINRC won 12 seats, BJP secured four, and AIADMK and LJK won one each. INDIA bloc managed to win only six seats, three independents also emerged victorious. TVK won two seats; ally NMK got one Cong crushes the Left, wins Kerala A N I L S @ T’Puram At least 20 ministers defeated At least 20 West Bengal ministers were defeated, including Bratya Basu, Manas Ranjan Bhunia, Shashi Panja and Chandrima Bhattacharya AFTER sitting on opposition benches for a decade, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) staged a spectacular comeback in Kerala by sweeping 102 out of 140 seats in the assembly ending the CPM-led , Left Democratic Front (LDF)’s 10-year rule captained by Pinarayi Vijayan. Riding on the strong antiincumbency wave driven by an anti-Pinarayi sentiment —as evident from the victory of UDF candidates even from traditional Left bastions—the UDF secured close to three-fourth majority crushing the LDF to a 35, seat tally from its previous 99 seats. Equally spectacular was the performance of the BJP, which won three seats ushering in an era of triangular politics in the state known for its bipolar political landscape. For the Left, the loss in Kerala means there will be no Communist CM in India for the first time since 1977. What cost the LDF was the overwhelming public ire and resentment within the cadres. While 13 of 20 contesting ministers lost, the winning margin of Pinarayi dropped from 50,000-plus in 2021 to just 19,247 votes. With the UDF’s stunning victory, all eyes are now on who would be the next CM. The Congress legislature party is expected to meet on Wednesday or Thursday P6 . ELECTIONS IN FIVE STATES LARGELY PEACEFUL, SAYS POLL COMMISSION | P9; NDA HAT-TRICK IN ASSAM | P10; RUDY GIULIANI HOSPITALISED, IN CRITICAL STATE I P11